Haruna's Extremely Successful Birthday Party
by NICE SAWA
Summary: Abe won't forgive Haruna for not inviting him to his birthday party.
1. Act 1

**Haruna's Extremely Successful Birthday Party**

**ACT ONE**

"MAIL'S HERE!!!" Tajima screamed as he burst into the clubhouse, waving an exclusive-looking envelope around like a madman. All of his teammates flocked around him.

"Really?" said Izumi.

"Who's it from?" asked Nishihiro.

"Who's it addressed to?" asked Oki.

"EVERYONE!" said Tajima excitedly as he tore the envelope open and pulled out a piece of paper. "…Uh…"

"Oh, just give it to me," said Izumi, rolling his eyes as he snatched the letter from Tajima who had obviously just forgotten how to read. So Izumi read out loud:

"_Dear everyone on Nishiura!_

_You're all invited to my super awesome birthday party! It's on May 24__th__, from whenever you feel like coming to whenever you feel like leaving! BE THERE OR ELSE!_

_Motoki Haruna_

_PS, when I say everyone on Nishiura, I mean everyone EXCEPT Takaya because he's a dweeb and Suyama, Nishihiro and Oki because they're ugly. Cheers!"_

"Wow!" said Sakaeguchi. "Looks like we're… invited to a party…" He trailed off as he noticed that Suyama, Nishihiro and Oki looked SO very sad and Abe looked positively angry. In fact, he looked SO angry that little steam lines emitted from his head.

"GIVE ME THAT!!!" Abe roared, tearing the letter out of Izumi's hands, reading it at the speed of light. "That… that PHONY!" He threw the letter down on the ground with such force that it made a loud thud and a dust cloud even though it was just a piece of paper.

"Let's have a look," said Hanai. He picked the letter up and read it, raising an eyebrow. "That's a pretty rude way of inviting us…"

"Let me see!" said Mizutani, reaching for the letter. Hanai handed it to him, and he read through it. Afterwards, everyone else on the team had to read through it on their own as well so they wouldn't feel left out.

Abe noticed Mihashi dweebing out in a corner, so he marched over and pulled him up by his collar. "Do you STILL think Haruna is a nice person?" Abe yelled in Mihashi's face.

"AHH! I… I…" Mihashi stuttered.

"Whoa, calm down, Abe!" Sakaeguchi immediately got between the battery.

"Hey, do you think I'm invited too?" Hamada asked, trying to change the subject. "Or is it a player-only party?"

"I sure hope it is," Kajiyama whispered to Umehara.

"I know what you mean," Umehara whispered back. "I don't think I'd feel very comfortable at a party with tons of sports players."

"Even if it is, I MUST find a way to get in so I can collect everyone's data!" said Shinooka, clenching her fists.

"Who CARES?" Abe said irritably, letting go of Mihashi and waltzing back to the crowd. "You shouldn't go. Haruna is a big phony and he's obviously just inviting you because he wants presents."

"I STRICTLY want to go!" said Tajima. "I'd NEVER turn down a party invitation!"

"I wouldn't mind going myself, just to find out why he's doing it," said Hanai reasonably.

"I kind of want to go too, just because I'm curious," said Sakaeguchi. "Of course, if it'll make the people who weren't invited feel bad…"

"Why the fudge would we feel bad?" Abe demanded. "This whole thing is STUPID and not WORTH feeling bad about. Go ahead, just go to the stupid party. Suyama, Nishihiro, Oki and I will do something IMPORTANT while you waste your time. Come, Suyama, Nishihiro and Oki!" He angrily marched out of the room.

Oki, Suyama and Nishihiro looked at each other, then shrugged and followed.

"A-A-Abe…" Mihashi said dramatically, reaching a hand out towards the door.

Sakaeguchi placed a hand on Mihashi's shoulder. "I think it would be for the best to leave Abe alone for a while."

Mihashi nodded sadly.

***

MEANWHILE, WITH MIHOSHI…

"WE GOT A LETTER!!!" bellowed Hiiragi as he came running in with a letter that looked identical to the one Nishiura had gotten. "YOU GET THE HONOR OF OPENING IT, KANO!!!"

As Kano opened a letter, all the Mihoshi first-years flocked around him, kind of resembling excited puppies eagerly waiting for their master to give them a command. The letter was INDEED identical, except for the part about Abe and the ugly people not being invited.

Kano read it out loud and paused. "Motoki Haruna? Who's Motoki Haruna?"

"He probably plays baseball!" said Hiiragi, raising his index finger.

"WELL DUH!!!" yelled everyone else.

"Maybe we could look him up in the baseball player phonebook," Oda suggested.

"Let's do that," said Yoshi, pulling out said book. He flipped around for a few seconds before stopping. "A-ha! He's a second-year pitcher on a team known as Musashino!"

"Our pitcher is most definitely better," said Hatake as if that had something to do with anything.

"WHY did some random pitcher we don't know invite us to his birthday party?!" Miyagawa yelled, sounding enraged.

"Shut up, Miyagawa," Kano ordered. "Musashino… Isn't that team in the same tournament as Nishiura?"

"Mihashi's team?" said Hatake.

"Mihashi…" grumbled everyone except Kano, shaking their fists.

"Well, it still doesn't explain why he'd invite us to his birthday party," said Yoshi.

"This is stupid," said Hatake. "Let's just forget all about it."

"No, we should definitely go," said Kano.

"Yeah, that's what I just said," Hatake quickly corrected himself.

"Maybe this guy invited all kinds of random teams," said Kano. "This is something we should not miss out on!"

"OKAY, KANO!!" yelled the whole team.

***

MEANWHILE, WITH TOSEI…

"WHY did Haruna invite US to his STUPID birthday party?" Rio ranted and raged, stomping around on the floor.

"Now now, he's probably just trying to be nice," Kazuki tried to reason.

"NICE??" Rio bellowed. "He hardly knows the meaning of the word!"

"He's obviously inviting us just to make fun of you," Junta said, looking satisfied.

"I wonder if we have to bring a present?" Kazuki wondered.

"I'm not going," said Rio.

"Yes you are," said Junta.

"I'm not," said Rio. Kazuki and Junta just laughed at him because they knew they were going to force him to come with them no matter what.

The other Tosei players looked at each other and shrugged.

"It didn't say anything about having to bring a present," said Shingo, reading through the invitation once more. "In fact, it didn't say anything about bringing… anything."

"Oh, then what do we have to lose?" said Jin, clapping his hands together.

"Our dignities?" Rio suggested. "Or maybe our HEALTHS? Who knows what kinds of nasty germs Haruna's house is filled with…"

"Now you're just being plain ridiculous," said Kazuki, placing his hands on his hips.

That's when Tosei's coach, Wolverine, came barging in. "WHAT IS THIS I HEAR ABOUT A PARTY INVITATION???" he bellowed.

"WE GOT AN INVITATION TO A PARTY HELD BY A MUSASHINO TEAM PLAYER, SIR!" yelled all the Tosei players as they saluted their coach.

"WELL THEN, GO TO THE PARTY AND PUMMEL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!" Wolverine roared. "NOW DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

While the Tosei players started doing pushups, Wolverine whirled around and faced his son who had just so happened to stand behind him the whole time. "YOU!" he bellowed.

"WHAT," said Wolverine Jr., also known as Ichihara, not even bothering to look at his pa.

"Did YOUR pathetic excuse for a team get an invitation to this exclusive party?" Wolverine literally shoved the invitation in Ichihara's face.

"No," said Ichihara.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOUR TEAM SUCKS!!!" Wolverine bellowed so loudly that Ichihara's cap got blown off his head.

"WE'RE SORRY, MR. WOLVERINE SIR!!" yelled Daichi who also happened to be present.

Wolverine rubbed his chin. "You know what you could do to make up for it?"

"Not interested," said Ichihara.

"WHAT CAN WE DO?" Daichi screamed.

"PRETEND YOU'RE MEMBERS OF TOSEI AND GO TO THE PARTY!!!" Wolverine roared, throwing a bunch of Tosei uniforms at Ichihara and Daichi.

"I don't wanna," said Ichihara. He was just about to turn around and leave, but his way was blocked by Daichi, Oyama and Sawamura.

"I say we go!" said Oyama enthusiastically. "Just to collect data and have a swell ol' time!"

"Yes! We must go!" Daichi practically begged.

"Come on, It-chan, don't be like that," said Sawamura.

Ichihara sighed. "Fine, WHATEVER!"

***

MEANWHILE, WITH MUSASHINO…

Haruna, Akimaru and Kaguyama were over at Haruna's place decorating it for the awesome party. They were basically hanging up obviously photoshopped pictures of Haruna doing amazing things such as curing cancer, solving the world hunger problem, climbing Mount Everest, and helping old ladies across the street.

"This will be the greatest party EVER!" Haruna sang as he skipped around throwing streamers all over the place.

"I still don't get why you invited all these random teams we've never even met…" said Akimaru.

"Because!" Haruna ran over to place an arm around Akimaru. "By inviting all these people and NOT Takaya, we're sure to anger him more than he's ever been angered. It'll be hilarious, trust me."

"What makes you think he'll care anyway?" said Akimaru, shoving Haruna away from him. "He sure didn't seem like he cared last time we ran into him."

"He was OBVIOUSLY just pretending!" Haruna said. "You should have seen him back in middle school, he was totally obsessed with being my Best Friend Forever. It was downright SPOOKY!"

"I doubt anyone will even show up," said Kaguyama. "If I got an invitation from someone I didn't know, I don't think I'd go."

"Even if they played baseball?" Akimaru looked puzzled.

"Well, maybe I would go if they played baseball," said Kaguyama thoughtfully.

"See?" said Haruna. "It'll be AWESOME."

"Why didn't you invite those other random three Nishiura guys either, though?" asked Kaguyama.

"Just to be funny," said Haruna. "I'm sure they can appreciate a good joke, don't you? They sure LOOK like the funny kind, if you know what I mean!"

"Now you're just being MEAN!" said Akimaru angrily.

"You guys are so, so incredibly boring," said Haruna, sighing a sigh of despair.


	2. Act 2

**ACT TWO**

Abe, Oki, Suyama and Nishihiro had gone to lurk in an empty alley. Abe looked cautiously from left to right before turning to his teammates.

"Okay," he said seriously. "The first Anti Haruna Club meeting is now in session."

"Anti…" said Suyama.

"Haruna…" Nishihiro continued.

"Club…?" Oki finished.

Abe was a bit taken aback by their sudden display of a Huey, Dewey and Louie-like connection, but he quickly shook it off. "You heard me!" he said. "We have to make sure he gets what he deserves. We must… ruin his birthday party."

The other three stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"Hey, that's a pretty cool idea, actually," Oki said finally. "That'll show him not to mess with us!"

"I am glad you see it my way, Oki," said Abe. "So, does anyone have any ideas as to how we'll ruin it?"

"It depends on what kind of party it is he's having," said Oki thoughtfully. "We should go investigate!"

"Hang on a sec," said Suyama. "If we ruin Haruna's party… won't we ruin it for everyone showing up as well? Including our own team?"

"That's actually a good point," said Abe. "Okay, we must make sure that it's only severely ruined for Haruna and that Mihashi will still have a swell time."

"And everyone else on our team!" said Nishihiro.

"What?" said Abe. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"So… should we go… investigate?" Oki tried again.

"Excellent idea, Oki!" said Abe. "Since it conveniently enough just so happens to be getting dark, we can take the bus and reach Haruna's place right past his bedtime."

"Then let's go!" said the other three as all four of them ran off to the nearest bus stop.

The Anti Haruna Club found themselves outside the Haruna residence shortly afterwards. Haruna's bedtime just so happened to be right then, so when the Club silently peered through his window, they could see his mom tucking him in for the night.

"Good night, sweetheart!" said Mrs. Haruna, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Good night, mom!" Haruna replied sweetly.

As soon as Mrs. Haruna left the room and shut the door, Haruna flung off the covers, turned on the lights, whipped out his Nintendo DS, and started playing some kind of badass violent fighting game like Pokemon.

"See?" said Abe, pointing directly at Haruna. "That right there. That's a phony."

"We know, Abe," the other three droned, then quickly dove on top of Abe to get out of Haruna's viewpoint just as he turned around to see if anyone was there.

"Anyway," said Abe, pulling out a map. "What we have here is a detailed map of the Haruna residence."

"Do you… always carry a detailed map of the Haruna residence with you?" Nishihiro asked, looking slightly spooked.

Abe chose to ignore that question and pointed at the map. "Since it's spring, it's highly likely that THIS particular window is left open," he said, pointing at a little storage room or whatever pictured on the map. "We could try to sneak through it."

So the four of them snuck around the building until they reached the window to the random storage room, which was INDEED open! It was really small and high up though, since storage rooms don't need huge luxurious windows.

"How do we get up there?" asked Oki.

"Oh right," said Abe. "We'll be needing a stepladder. I'll be right back!" He dashed around the corner and returned a minute later with a big honkin' stepladder. They all agreed that Abe should go first and Oki last, just in case his tremendous nose might get stuck or something. So Abe went, then Nishihiro, then Suyama, and then Oki. They managed to get through the window without having any problems whatsoever. Good for them!

HOWEVER, as soon as Oki landed on the floor, there was a sudden breath of wind that made the window slam shut!!

"Is that bad?" Suyama questioned.

"Actually, yes," said Abe seriously since he knew. "Once that window slams shut, it can get very difficult to open it again. Especially since it's so high up and all."

"OH DEAR!!" exclaimed the other three.

"But it's okay, we weren't going to exit through that window anyway!" Abe declared. "Once we've thoroughly ruined Haruna's party, we'll be exiting through the main entrance.

"Oh good," said the others.

So Abe reached for the storage room's door handle, only to… notice that the door wouldn't budge! At all!

"…NOW we have a problem," said Abe.

***

THE NEXT MORNING, Mihashi, Sakaeguchi, Tajima, Mizutani, Izumi and Hanai met up with Hamada, Kajiyama, Umehara and Shinooka at the baseball club.

"Didn't any of you bring presents?" gasped Tajima, looking so very shocked at his empty-handed teammates.

"It's not that much of a big deal," said Izumi with a shrug.

"If it hurts his feelings, we could always just give him a baseball or something and pretend it was our plan all along," said Sakaeguchi. "Since we DO carry around baseballs all over the place and all."

"Oh dear, I sure hope we won't offend him!!" Umehara exclaimed as he and Kajiyama started biting their nails. "Angry sports players can be so scary!"

"HARUNA IS A NICE PERSON!!" Mihashi piped at the very top of his voice. "I… I kind of wanted to give him something, but… I couldn't think of anything… awesome enough for someone like… Haruna!"

Tajima skipped over and placed an arm around Mihashi. "Then you should have done what I did! I drew him a picture and had Shi-noo-ka make him some cookies." Tajima proudly showed everyone a LOVELY picture he'd drawn of him and Haruna being bestestebuddies and skipping through a field of flowers, and then pointed at Shinooka who was standing there with a big ol' plate of cookies.

"I… couldn't do that…" said Mihashi, looking so very ashamed.

"It's okay though!" said Tajima. "We'll just say my present is from the whole team!"

"No that's okay, Tajima!" the rest of the team assured him.

"So should we get going, or do you want to stand around and chat some more?" Hanai asked.

"LET'S GO!!" yelled all the baseball players.

"I don't know, I kind of want to stand around and chat some more…" said Kajiyama.

"Yeah, me too!" Umehara agreed.

"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!" yelled Hamada as he started shoving them along.

So Nishiura waltzed over to the nearest bus stop and boarded the very next bus, only to be faced by various members of TOSEI scattered around on the seats.

"Oh, it's Nishiura!" Kazuki greeted them. "How nice to see you!"

"Did you guys get invited to that birthday party too?" asked Junta, who was sitting next to Kazuki (well of course).

"Yeah," said Hanai as he sat down next to someone random… Shingo. "I take it you guys were too, then."

"Yep," said Shingo.

"Hey, you!" said Rio, sounding as excited as Rio possibly could. "…Tajima! Why don't you sit next to me?"

"That seat's occupied, though," said Tajima, pointing at Jin who was indeed already sitting next to Rio.

"Oh," said Rio. "Um… no, it's not!" He proceeded to kick Jin out of his seat.

"Hey!" whined Jin, but he quickly got over it and sat down next to Izumi or someone.

"Well all righty then!" said Tajima happily as he jumped into the seat next to Rio and the two of them started talking about stuff.

"It's so nice to see Rio mingling with others, don't you think?" Kazuki observed.

"I dunno…" said Junta. "I'm kind of jealous."

"Yeah, me too, actually," Kazuki nodded.

The two of them sighed heavily.

"You know, if this keeps up, we might have to do something drastic!" Junta declared, clenching his fists.

"He sure looks happy though," Kazuki noted sadly.

"He does, doesn't he!" said Junta. "That's it, of course! He's being POSSESSED by that little Nishiura guy!"

"Gasp!" said Kazuki.

Sakaeguchi and Mihashi were sitting next to each other, and Sakaeguchi noticed that Mihashi was twitching pretty badly.

"Mihashi, are you okay?" Sakaeguchi asked.

"AHH!" Mihashi nearly jumped through the bus.

Sakaeguchi looked around. "You know, a lot of the people on this bus were third runners once, if that helps!"

Mihashi took a deep breath and looked around, then started staring at all the people in the bus that had been third runners during the Nishiura-Tosei match.

"So… you come here often?" Mizutani asked the person he was sitting next to, Yamanoi.

"To this bus, or to this Haruna fella's house?" Yamanoi asked.

"Um… both, I guess," said Mizutani. "It doesn't matter. I was just trying to start a conversation!"

"Well in that case!" said Yamanoi. "Do you like baseball?"

"Do I ever!" said Mizutani excitedly as the two of them started having an exciting conversation about baseball.

Hamada's nerdy friends, meanwhile, were sitting at the very back of the bus trying to make themselves invisible, and Hamada and Shinooka were just sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

That's when the bus came to a screeching halt to let some more people on! To be specific, four guys wearing Tosei uniforms boarded it.

"It's SAKITAMA!" Tajima bellowed, recognizing Ichihara, Daichi, Oyama and Sawamura immediately.

"Wait, why are they wearing Tosei uniforms?" Izumi raised an eyebrow.

"They didn't get invited to the party, so our coach Wolverine made them dress up as members of our team in order to get in," Jin explained.

"Why?" Izumi asked.

"I think it's because Sakitama's pitcher is Coach Wolverine's son or something like that," Jin shrugged.

"Remember, we're supposed to be members of Tosei!" Oyama informed the entire busload of people with a wink. "So work with us and play along, all right?"

"Sure, whatever," droned everyone.


	3. Act 3

**ACT THREE**

At the Haruna residence…

"Out, out, out, out, OUT!" Haruna yelled. He grabbed a broom and used it to sweep his family members out of the house.

"We're GOING already!" yelled the family members, grabbing their jackets and suitcases and stuff.

"Now Motoki, we know it's your birthday and all, but please be careful not to tear down the house!" said Mrs. Haruna.

"If someone else tries to tear it down, be sure to kick them out!" said Mr. Haruna.

"Don't worry about it! Now have a nice day!" Haruna slammed the door in their faces. A second later though, the doorbell rang, so he opened it again to let his teammates in.

"Welcome, welcome!" Haruna greeted his fellow Musashino people. "Come right in and make yourselves at home!"

"So we're the first to arrive?" Ookawa inquired.

"You sure are!" said Haruna. "Don't you feel special?"

Meanwhile, in the storage room, Abe and his merry men, who had eventually fallen asleep the night before, woke up from all the commotion.

"Is it morning already?" Oki yawned.

Abe went up to the door and peered through the keyhole. "Looks like Haruna's team just arrived."

"That's all fine and well, but have you figured out how to get us out of here yet?" Suyama asked, crossing his arms.

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Abe. "I'm sure someone will be needing SOMETHING in here sooner or later. We'll sneak out when that happens."

"Wow!" Nishihiro exclaimed, marveling at an enormous birthday cake that was standing on a table in the corner, emitting little glowing rays and sparkles. "Has that been there the entire time?"

"Has to have been," said Abe. "We probably didn't notice it last night because it was all dark. This is perfect!"

"You don't mean…" Suyama began.

"Yes!" Abe declared. "We DESTROY it!" He WOULD have laughed maniacally, but it's not really in his character, so he avoided it at the last second.

"Can we eat some of it first?" Oki suggested. "We haven't really eaten anything since yesterday."

"Fine," said Abe. "We eat it, then destroy the leftovers."

***

Meanwhile, Mihoshi was just hanging around at their local baseball club practicing.

"Kano, when do you think we should leave for the party?" Hatake asked his beloved pitcher companion.

"I dunno," Kano shrugged. "But I guess parties don't usually start all that early in the morning, so there's no need to hurry."

"Okay!" said Hatake. He whipped out a megaphone and started bellowing into it. "ALL RIGHT TEAM, GET OVER HERE FOR A SEC!"

The Mihoshi first-years paid no attention and continued doing what they were doing.

"Kano, YOU tell them," said Hatake.

Kano sighed and took the megaphone. "ALL RIGHT TEAM, GET OVER HERE FOR A SEC!" he repeated.

The Mihoshi first-years IMMEDIATELY came running over, turning all their attention to Kano.

"Thank you, Kano," said Hatake. He turned to the rest of the team. "As you know, we're attending a party today! We're going to be fashionably late because getting there too early would just make us look eager and uncool and stuff."

"Whatever, it's not like there was a set time anyway!" said Hiiragi.

"Okay, so we'll just… head out later today then," said Kano.

"YOU GOT IT, KANO!" the whole team gave him the thumbs up.

***

MEANWHILE, the bus stopped right outside the Haruna residence, and all the baseball players onboard filed out of it.

"MAN that was a fun bus ride!" said Tajima.

"It sure was!" Rio agreed excitedly.

"Rio! Hey RIIIOOOOO!!!" Junta called. Rio ignored him and continued chatting with Tajima, so Junta went over to cry on Kazuki's shoulder.

"Don't hyperventilate, Mihashi!!" said Sakaeguchi, noticing that Mihashi was all stiff and twitchy and not breathing properly. "Look, there's a third runner!" He pointed at Jin who was strolling by, and Mihashi turned around and stared at him.

"Don't DO that!!" whined Jin since Mihashi was being really spooky.

"This uniform itches," said Ichihara. "It has Tosei germs all over it."

"Psh, you're just saying that," said Sawamura.

"I think it's a very comfortable uniform!" Daichi informed the world. "I'm so grateful Mr. Wolverine allowed us to borrow them!"

"That's the spirit, Daichi!" said Oyama.

"More like 'made us borrow them,'" said Ichihara.

"We are SO nervous!" wailed Kajiyama and Umehara.

"Guys, you've been watching too many movies!" said Hamada. "Sports players aren't that mean to nerds in REAL life!"

The group eventually reached the main entrance, where Hanai, Kazuki and Oyama rang the doorbell TOGETHER since they're the captains.

"WELCOME!!!" Haruna bellowed as he flung the door open like a second after the doorbell rang. "Wow, if it isn't…" He quickly glanced at the uniforms the guests were wearing. "…Nishiura and Tosei! Did you all come here together?"

"Actually, it was just a coincidence," Hanai clarified.

"Oh, and happy birthday!" said Kazuki. "Thank you so much for the invitation!"

"Happy birthday, Haruna," droned the rest of the crowd.

"OH YOU GUYS!! Well come on in and meet my team!" Haruna gestured for everyone to follow him into the living room. So they did!

"Hello!" said the Musashino players dorkily, waving just as dorkily.

"Hi!" said the other teams.

"Friendly rival teams, this is MY team, Musashino!" said Haruna. "Specifically, we have Ookawa, Kaguyama, Akimaru, and our manager, Miyashita!" He paused. "The remaining team members couldn't come because they're weeds."

Everyone spent the next five minutes or so bowing and introducing themselves.

"Hey, WAIT A SECOND!" said Haruna, eyeing Kajiyama, Umehara and Hamada suspiciously. "You guys aren't baseball players!"

"ZOINKS!" yelled Kajiyama and Umehara.

"Well, neither are we," said Miyashita, pointing at herself and Shinooka.

"Right!" said Haruna. "I wasn't going to kick them out or anything! I was just saying it's really nice of you baseball player SUPPORTERS to come join us as well! ANYWAY, why don't you all mingle and get to know each other better, and we'll start the party soon after that!"

"Hey you, Haruna!" Tajima yelled. "I got you a present!"

"Oh you shouldn't have!" Haruna exclaimed, excitedly holding out his hands.

"Here you go! Happy birthday!" Tajima happily handed Haruna the LOVELY drawing.

"Oh," Haruna considered the drawing. "It kind of sucks," he said bluntly, "but thanks for the effort!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" Tajima yelled. "I also got you these cookies! HEY SHI-NOO-KA!!!"

"Here!" said Shinooka.

"HEY!!" said Rio, getting between Tajima and Haruna. "Did you just INSULT the drawing Tajima worked so hard to make you?"

"Not really, I was just being honest," said Haruna with a shrug.

"You are SO DESPICABLE!!" Rio yelled.

"What's his problem?" Tajima asked a nearby person… Takehiko or someone. Tajima probably didn't even realize he'd been offended. Which he hadn't been! People should be allowed to express their honest opinions nicely without people getting offended! Criticism is AWESOME!

"Um… okay?" Haruna said, looking amused at this random person yelling in his face. "Who are you again?"

"THAT'S IT!!" Rio yelled. "Come, Tajima, let's go stand over THERE!" He grabbed Tajima's arm and pulled him over to a corner.

Junta and Kazuki were hiding behind a large potted plant, observing Rio's every move.

"Wouldn't it be awesome if Rio yelled at Tajima like that?" Kazuki sighed longingly.

"You said it!" said Junta. "We must somehow get Rio and Tajima to HATE each other!"

"I don't know if we should be interfering…" said Kazuki. "Rio sure looks… happy."

"He'll be happier with us!" Junta declared. "Our immense love for Rio can't be beat by some random guy he hardly KNOWS!"

Mihashi was, once again, swaying back and forth and looking like he was ready to pass out, so Sakaeguchi quickly came to his aid.

"Mihashi, are you okay?" he asked.

"I… you… they…" Mihashi stuttered. "…Haruna…"

Sakaeguchi, with his amazing ability to speak dweeb, knew what Mihashi meant. "Oh, you want to talk to Haruna! Well, let's get over there and say hi!"

"NO!!" Mihashi yelled, looking around frantically.

"Oh," said Sakaeguchi. "Well, if you're not ready yet… tell me when you want to go, and I can come with you for support!"

That's when Haruna abruptly turned around!!

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Mihashi screamed, flailing around and falling backwards. Sakaeguchi caught him just in time and helped him stand back up.

"Well if it isn't Nishiura's pitcher!" Haruna said, coming over to Mihashi. "What's your name again?"

"Mi… Mi… Mi…" Mihashi stuttered.

"This is Mihashi!" said Sakaeguchi. "And I'm Sakaeguchi."

"Fascinating," said Haruna. He placed an arm around Mihashi, which caused Mihashi to get that facial expression that involves the diamond mouth, slit pupils, his eyebrows disappearing into his bangs, and his bangs losing the outlines. "So how's your pitching going? Better yet, how is it to be in a battery with Takaya? Isn't he the biggest whiner ever? Hey, let's go talk about him behind his back and stuff!"

"I… uh… ah…" Mihashi passed out, right there, just like that.

"Gasp! Mihashi!" Sakaeguchi ran over to Mihashi's aid and checked his pulse and stuff. "Speak to me! Are you all right? How many fingers am I holding up?!"

"HARUNA!!" bellowed Akimaru as he came stomping over. "Did you knock that poor defenseless pitcher out?"

Haruna's expression immediately turned from amused to annoyed. "I did no such thing! He just fell to the floor like a ragdoll!"

"YEAH RIGHT!!!" Akimaru yelled.

"It's true, I witnessed it," said Sakaeguchi, trying to hoist Mihashi up.

"Let me help you with that," said Akimaru. He helped Sakaeguchi move Mihashi over to the couch.


	4. Act 4

**ACT FOUR**

Abe and company had just finished obliterating the cake when suddenly Abe's Mihashi senses started tingling.

"Hang on…" he said, concentrating. "Someone vile is communicating with Mihashi. I can feel it." He gasped. "It's HARUNA!" He got this really wild look on his face that unnerved the left-out trio.

"Abe, just breathe slowly," said Suyama, holding his hands out in front of him. "The rest of the team is with Mihashi, they'll make sure nothing bad happens…"

"Yeah, third runner!" said Nishihiro.

"You don't understand," Abe said frantically. "This is Haruna we're talking about. If he finds out how fragile and dweeby Mihashi is, we're all done for."

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Oki raised an eyebrow.

"NO I'M NOT OVERREACTING!!!" Abe bellowed at the top of his voice. He paused. "I'm losing my cool here. We have to get out before something BAD happens!" He picked up a big bulky flashlight that was standing around, eyeing the window.

"Abe, let's think this through rationally…" Suyama began, but before he could get through to Abe, Abe had thrown the flashlight at the window with all his might, shattering it completely.

"Well, that's one way to do it," said Oki. Abe climbed up on a table, then out the window, followed by the other three.

The four of them rounded the building until they were outside the living room, where they cautiously peered through one of the windows. Abe immediately located Mihashi on the couch.

"Mihashi!" Abe gasped dramatically.

"It looks fine, though," Nishihiro observed. "Look, the rest of the team is there, and they don't look all that concerned."

Sure enough, Sakaeguchi, Hanai, Izumi and Mizutani were all standing by Mihashi, fanning him while casually chatting with some random Tosei, Sakitama and Musashino people.

"Actually, there are no Sakitama people here, only people from Tosei, Musashino and Nishiura!" said Oyama.

"YOU'RE BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!!!" yelled Daichi.

"Now you're doing it too," said Ichihara.

"I'M SORRY!!!!!" Daichi screamed as he ran away in tears.

Anyway, Abe let out a deep sigh. "I guess things are under control… FOR NOW."

***

Meanwhile, with Mihoshi, KANO'S Mihashi senses started tingling as well! He stopped in his tracks.

"Something the matter, Kano?" Hatake asked when Kano didn't respond to his signals and just stood there without throwing.

"I think so!" said Kano. "I get this feeling that I should definitely be where Ren is at this moment!"

"But Mihashi sucks!!" groaned the entire team.

"No he doesn't!!" Kano snapped. He started pacing back and forth while rubbing his chin. "Since WE got invited to this birthday party, it's highly likely that Ren's team got invited as well… I say we go… right now!"

"Fine…" sighed Mihoshi.

So they all hopped on the nearest bus and sped off to Saitama at the speed of light. And by 'they all,' I actually just mean Kano, Hatake, Oda, Yoshi, Miyagawa and Hiiragi since the others didn't feel like going.

***

Back at the party, the doorbell rang. Haruna went and opened it, naturally.

"Hi, we're here for the party!" said Ryo and Aoi. They were dressed in fancy suits and party hats and carried with them lots of presents and balloons and everything.

"YOU WEREN'T INVITED!!!" Haruna bellowed, slamming the door in their faces.

The doorbell rang again! Haruna opened the door again! He was JUST about to yell in the faces of the people standing outside, when he noticed that it was a team he'd actually invited, namely MIHOSHI!

"Did you invite a team called Nishiura?" Kano asked.

"Yeah!" said Haruna.

"All right, Ren, here I come!" said Kano excitedly, barging in.

"WAIT FOR US, KANO!!!" yelled the rest of Mihoshi.

"REN!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO REN??" Kano gasped upon seeing the horrible sight that was Mihashi passed out on the couch.

Mihashi's old Mihoshi teammates had to stifle their laughter upon seeing Mihashi like that for the sake of not angering Kano.

"We didn't do anything!" Sakaeguchi spoke up. "He simply passed out from too much excitement!"

"Oh Ren…" Kano sighed and shook his head, then joined Nishiura in the fanning.

Haruna then decided it was time to whip out the amazing cake.

"Akimaru! Kaguyama!" he called. "Get over here for a sec!"

"COMING, HARUNA!" Akimaru and Kaguyama replied, running over to Haruna.

"I'm gonna bring out this really amazing and oversized cake, and I need your help to do so," Haruna whispered.

"Is it really that oversized?" Kaguyama gasped.

"Why yes, it's amazing!" said Haruna. They entered the kitchen where Daichi just so happened to sit in a corner angsting, but they paid no attention to him and made their way over to the door that lead to a certain storage room.

"GASP!!!" Haruna gasped as they opened the door only to NOT see the cake.

"Yep, that sure is an amazing sight right there," said Akimaru sarcastically.

"Where is it?!" Haruna just stared at the room in disbelief. "A cake that large just doesn't DISAPPEAR like that!"

"Look, the window!" Kaguyama gasped, pointing at the broken window.

"Somebody must have STOLEN it!" Haruna concluded. "Wait, wait, that can't be right… there's no way a cake that humongous would be able to fit through that window."

"Then what exactly happened?" Kaguyama fretted.

The three Musashino players spun around all at once, facing Daichi. "YOU!!" they yelled. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?"

"FOR ABOUT A MINUTE!!" Daichi piped up.

"Wait, he can't have done it, something about him just screams 'dweeb' all over," said Haruna thoughtfully.

Akimaru climbed up on the table and peered out the window. "It appears to have been shattered from the inside," he observed. "Doesn't that strike you as weird?"

"Kind of, yes…" Haruna said. A lightbulb suddenly lit up above his head. "Wait, I got it!"

"You know who did it?" Kaguyama gasped.

"No, but I just got the best idea EVER!" Haruna exclaimed. "We'll get everyone involved and turn this into a super exciting party activity!!"

"Ah-huh?" Akimaru and Kaguyama just stood there with raised eyebrows as Haruna darted back into the living room.

"EVERYONE!!" Haruna yelled. Everyone immediately stopped chatting and turned their attention to him. "Something GRUESOME just happened!"

Mihashi, who had just regained consciousness, reached for his heart in an overly dramatic fashion.

"The birthday cake has gone MISSING!" Haruna declared. "And the window in the room where I stored it is BROKEN!"

"SHOCK AND GASP!!!" yelled everyone except Rio, who yelled something along the lines of "SERVES YOU RIGHT!!!"

"But not to worry!" said Haruna. "With our amazing baseball skills, I'm sure we'll be able to track down the villain in NO time!" He pulled out a bunch of magnifying glasses and detective hats and threw them around at the crowd.

"You mean we get to be detectives?!" Tajima gasped excitedly. "COO-UHL!!"

"Tajima, it's not coo-uhl!" Rio whined.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up!" said Haruna. "I say we split up in TOTALLY random groups to make it more challenging! Let's see… you, you, you, you and YOU! You guys can be one group!" He went through the crowd and made groups.

The first group consisted of Ichihara, Mizutani, Shinooka, Junta and Izumi; group four contained Kazuki, Kajiyama, Hanai, Akimaru and Kano; group three consisted of Hatake, Rio, Takehiko, Oyama and Miyagawa; Jin, Mihashi, Daichi, Shingo and Haruna made up group four; Hiiragi, Sakaeguchi, Tajima, Miyashita and Oda formed group five, and group six got made up of Ookawa, Sawamura, Kaguyama, Yamanoi and Hamada.

That left Yoshi and Umehara! They could choose between forming a group of their own and tagging along on other groups. Naturally, Yoshi decided to join Kano on group two, while Umehara ran off to Hamada on group six since he couldn't join Kajiyama's group since Yoshi had already gone there.

And yes, all the groups were completely random, EXCEPT for Haruna making himself go on Mihashi's group on purpose since Mihashi gave him such good chucks and all!

Noticing that Mihashi was about to hyperventilate, Sakaeguchi spoke up. "Would it be possible to maybe switch the groups around a little?"

"NO SWITCHING!!" Haruna yelled happily.

"You'll be okay, Mihashi," said Sakaeguchi. "Just breathe properly, and think about third runners!"

"OF COURSE he'll be okay!" said Kano. "Never underestimate Ren!"

Haruna clapped his hands together. "So… let's split up!"

Everyone just looked awkwardly at each other, not really knowing where to go.

"SCRAM!!!" Haruna bellowed.

"YIKES!" yelled the baseball players as they all scattered. Haruna's team remained where they were.

"Where do we begin searching?" Jin asked excitedly.

"Since everyone else is outside, we should probably start right here," said Shingo reasonably.

"Right you are, what's-your-face!" said Haruna. "Come on, let's go investigate the scene of the crime!"

"Do you have any idea WHEN it happened?" Jin asked.

"No clue," said Haruna as they entered the kitchen. "Must have been AFTER my I went to bed last night, as I'm pretty sure I saw it before that."

"Well then, let's all do our best to find it!" said Jin enthusiastically.

"YES!" Daichi yelled.

"You look kind of pale," Shingo noted, looking at Mihashi.

Mihashi looked at Shingo. "Third… run…ner! I'M OKAY!!"

"WELL ZEN, here we are!" Haruna declared. "The scene of the crime! The cake was last seen on that very plate, on that very table! What we know so far is that the window was broken from the inside, and that the cake was WAY too large to fit through it."

"That doesn't make any sense!!" said Daichi.

"Do any other people live here?" Jin asked.

"Well duh," said Haruna. "Yeah. Ma, pa and big sis."

"Do you think one of them could have done it?"

"I HIGHLY doubt it, but never say never!" Haruna looked thoughtful. "Actually, no. That would be too weird."

"We should probably search through the entire room to find clues!" said Jin enthusiastically.

"Good idea!" said Haruna. "Why don't YOU three do that while me and Mihashi go look for clues over THERE! He grabbed Mihashi and dragged him back into the living room.

Mihashi shook all over. "Ha… Ha… Ha…" he stuttered. He was trying to say Haruna's name, not laughing.

"I want to show you something!" said Haruna giddily. He dragged Mihashi over to the TV and seated him on the couch in front of it. He proceeded to pop a DVD into the DVD player, and then he turned on the TV.

"Wh-wh-wh…" Mihashi tried to speak.

"Check it out, I've compiled an entire DVD chock-full of embarrassing Takaya moments from middle school!" Haruna laughed out loud. "I call it 'Haruna's Funniest Takaya Videos!' Oh man, was he something… You know what, I'm going to give you your very own copy so you can use it to blackmail him if he tries to order you around!"


	5. Act 5

**ACT FIVE**

Abe and company had gone to hide in some bushes (meaning that yes, Abe was in his element).

"WHY did they all barge out just now?" Oki complained.

"Shh, if we listen carefully, we just might find out," said Abe. They pulled the bushes up by their roots to make them their portable disguises, then went off to spy on the first team first.

"What exactly are we looking for again…?" asked Ichihara, turning over a small rock with his foot.

"Um, I think it was a…" Mizutani started, but then he drew a blank.

"Frankly, I'm too distracted to care," said Junta, looking longingly over at Rio's group, then over at Kazuki's, placing a hand over his heart.

Izumi sighed. "We're looking for a CAKE, okay?"

"Or at least, we're trying to track down the people who took it!" said Shinooka.

"Who would steal a cake?" Ichihara raised an eyebrow.

"Personally, I've come to the conclusion that the cake didn't REALLY get stolen, and that this is some kind of ridiculous game," said Izumi.

"That makes a lot of sense, actually," said Ichihara. "Why are we looking for it, then? Let's go do something else, this is way too tiresome."

"I agree!" said Junta. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" Before anyone could excuse him, he darted off.

***

Kazuki, also while reaching for his heart, looked longingly over at Junta's group, then at Rio's, then rapidly shook his head to snap out of it.

"Well?" said Kano.

"Well what?" said the others.

"We're in a competition," said Kano. "We have to do our best to solve this crime and WIN!"

"Since when was it a competition?" said Hanai.

"Well obviously, when people split up into groups to try to find the solution to a problem, it automatically becomes a competition," said Kano. "Aren't you taking this seriously? Why aren't you listening to me?!"

"Whoa," said Akimaru.

"…I'm listening to you, Kano," said Yoshi.

"We should start looking, then!" said Kajiyama nervously, not wanting any fights to break out.

"Okay," said Kano, getting way too into the whole thing. "We'll split up and search the area, covering more ground for the whole team that way. Then we meet back here again in ten minutes."

"We just split up into groups, what's the point in splitting our group into MORE groups?" asked Hanai.

"In order to secure victory, of course!" Kano clenched his fists.

The others shrugged and decided to humor him so they all darted off in different directions.

***

"I don't want to be in this group…" whined Rio.

"You miss Kazuki and Junta, huh?" said Takehiko sympathetically.

"What?" Rio looked disgusted. "NO! I wanted to be in the same group as TAJIMA!"

"Well you're not, so shut up before I pound your head into the asphalt," said Hatake. "Let's just get this stupid search over with so we can all return to our lives and Kano!"

"YEAH!" said Miyagawa.

"Let's go have a look around the building," said Oyama. Since no one had any better ideas, they did just that. "Jinkies!" he said as they found the broken glass outside the storage room window.

"Don't say that ever again," Hatake threatened.

***

"I sure hope Mihashi is all right…" said Sakaeguchi.

"He'll be FINE!" said Tajima, slapping Sakaeguchi's back. "Now let's find that cake, guys! We'll strictly find it and then strictly start partying!"

"We should hire a bloodhound," said Hiiragi.

"So hey," said Oda, turning to Miyashita. "You're Haruna's team's manager, right?"

"Yeah," said Miyashita.

"I'm Oda," said Oda lamely. "So as the team manager, you wouldn't happen to know what this is all about?"

"I have no clue," said Miyashita. "But knowing Haruna, it could just be a big joke. Then again, maybe someone DID steal the cake! He's so unpredictable!"

"I FOUND SOMETHING!!!" Tajima bellowed.

"OOH!" the rest of the group flocked around him.

"I found a yen!" Tajima said excitedly, holding up a shiny new coin.

"D'oh," said the others, slapping their foreheads.

***

"Why am I taking orders from Haruna?" Ookawa wondered out loud. "I'm older than him AND the captain!"

"Relax, it's just a game," said Hamada.

"Heheh, I would NEVER take orders from people younger than me!" said Yamanoi.

"It's just a game!!" Hamada repeated.

"Is it now?" said Sawamura.

"Well yeah, I think so," said Hamada. "I mean, who would steal a birthday cake?"

"Besides, Haruna did look quite excited," said Umehara. "I for one would never have looked excited if someone had stolen MY cake!"

"I don't think it's a game, guys," said Kaguyama. "The window was broken and everything, and Haruna DID seem really surprised when we discovered that the cake was missing."

"Game or not, it's a fun party activity, so let's all do our best and have fun while we do it!" said Hamada enthusiastically.

The others looked at him questionably.

"Ooooor… we could just stand around here and mope," said Hamada. "But what's the fun in that?"

"Moping sounds good," said Ookawa.

"Whatever," said Sawamura.

"I'm with the majority!" said Umehara nervously.

"I'll just observe quietly," said Yamanoi with a smile.

***

Back with Abe and company! After snooping around as if they were on Nosy Neighbors, they had managed to find out that everyone was looking for the cake, and that not ALL the people were outside. Among others, Mihashi and Haruna were still inside!

"Is Haruna doing this to mock me?" Abe wondered out loud, pacing back and forth while still wearing the bush.

"You know, I'm starting to feel really bad about this," said Nishihiro. "They're all so worked up, and have no idea what happened."

"Yeah…" said Suyama. "It does feel wrong that we know very well what happened, yet here we are, withholding the information."

"But we were WRONGED!" said Abe. "We have the RIGHT to get revenge!"

That's when Ichihara, Izumi, Shinooka and Mizutani strolled by.

"Holy crap it's a moving bush!" Mizutani exclaimed. "It has come to the point where the plants come alive to get revenge on the people stepping on them!"

The others stared at Mizutani for a second before marching over to the bush and tearing it off Abe.

"ABE!!!" gasped Izumi, Mizutani and Shinooka.

"You're with the plant people?" Mizutani gasped louder.

"NO, you fools!" said Abe. "I'm here to get my revenge on Haruna!" He paused. "Don't tell him I'm here."

"Let me guess…" said Izumi, walking over to the other three bushes that were just standing around. He proceeded to tear them off only to reveal Suyama, Nishihiro and Oki.

All three of them immediately dropped to their knees and started sobbing. "WE DIDN'T MEAN IT!!!"

Abe sighed and lightly slapped his forehead.

"I don't want to be involved in this," said Ichihara. He was just about to leave when Abe dove on top of him.

"DON'T TELL ANYONE!!" he yelled.

"I WON'T!!" Ichihara yelled right back. "What makes you think I care enough to tell anyone?"

"Good point," said Abe, standing back up (he obviously knew everything about Ichihara's personality since he stalks everyone). Ichihara strolled off.

"Wait a minute, it's all coming together," said Izumi. "Did YOU guys steal Haruna's birthday cake?"

"…Maybe," said Abe.

"This is stupid," said Izumi. "Just go and tell him you did it so we won't have to run around like fools looking for whoever did it."

"Try and make me!" Abe challenged.

"Actually, I think I want to go do it…" said Suyama.

"Yeah, me too," said Nishihiro.

"Me three!" said Oki.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!" Abe bellowed.

Ichihara, meanwhile, randomly crashed into Kano who was looking for clues like there was no tomorrow.

"Whoa, watch it," said Kano irritably.

"You're stressing around too much," said Ichihara. "Friggin' first-year," he added under his breath.

"That's because I intend to WIN this thing!" Kano declared. "I'll never get a chance to compete against Ren in a crime solving competition again, so it's now or never!"

"…O…kay," said Ichihara. "Is there a prize or something, since you're that worked up?"

"I dunno, but it wouldn't surprise me," Kano shrugged.

"Really, now…" said Ichihara, rubbing his chin.

***

Kazuki and Junta ALSO ran into each other!

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!" both of them exclaimed, hugging dramatically. They then paused. "RIO!"

"WE MUST FIND HIM!" Kazuki fretted. "HE WON'T BE ABLE TO SURVIVE OUT THERE WITHOUT US!"

"Yeah, and this is also our chance to talk to him without that meddling Tajima!" said Junta, shaking his fists.

They ran off, and finding Rio's team didn't take long since all of them were still in the same area. In fact, Rio, Hatake, Miyagawa, Takehiko and Oyama were still trying to enlighten themselves via the glass shards.

"RIIIIIOOOOOOOO!!!" Junta and Kazuki bellowed, throwing themselves on top of their best friend and smothering him with love.

"Hey, no fraternizing with the enemy!" Hatake demanded.

"I don't even KNOW these people!" Rio yelled.

Kazuki and Junta gasped the loudest most dramatic gasp EVER, backing away from Rio a little.

"You… you can't possibly mean that, Rio!" said Junta.

"Did you hit your head or something?" Kazuki sounded so concerned. "Try to remember! It's us, Kazu-san and Jun-san!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Hatake bellowed.

"Why don't we all work together?" Oyama suggested.

"NO!!" yelled Hatake and Miyagawa.

"Fine, we'll leave, but can we take Rio with us?" Kazuki asked.

"FINE!" said Hatake. "He was whining too much anyway!"

"RADICAL!" Kazuki and Junta cheered, running off, hauling Rio after them. Rio just sighed and rolled his eyes. He was used to it.

***

"…And this is from when Takaya slipped on a banana peel!" Haruna narrated excitedly. "And THIS is from when he got hit right in the face with a screwball! Oh man, he had a big ball-shaped bruise on his face for WEEKS!"

"Um… hey," said Ichihara as he strolled in.

"Whaaa-aaat?" said Haruna, pausing the DVD.

"I think I found who did it," said Ichihara.

"Did what?" said Haruna.

"Stole the cake," said Ichihara.

"OH!!" said Haruna. "Who? Where?"

"Um… some guy. Follow me."

"You too, Mihashi!" said Haruna excitedly, yanking Mihashi with him like a ragdoll as they followed Ichihara outside, rounded a corner, and came face to face with…

"TAKAYA!?" Haruna gasped. "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

"…Hey!" said Abe, glaring at Ichihara.

"What?" said Ichihara. "I felt like winning, okay?"

"You pitchers are all alike," Abe snarled. "Except Mihashi," he quickly added.

"Takaya, YOU stole my cake? WHERE IS IT?" Haruna demanded.

"Um, we did it too," Suyama stepped forward. "We ate it and obliterated the rest."

Haruna looked like he was at a loss of words. "But… why?"

"Why don't you guess?!" Abe snapped. "We wanted to ruin your birthday party because you left us out, and it looks like we succeeded!" He crossed his arms and smirked.

"…Actually, no, you didn't," said Haruna. "It's just a stupid cake, and splitting up to find it was really quite fun, right, Mihashi?"

"AH!" said Mihashi.

"MIHASHI!" Abe ran over to Mihashi. "Are you hurt? Did Haruna threaten your life? Did he pass any vile diseases on to you?"

"Abe, Haruna is… a… nice…"

"OH FORGET IT!" Abe yelled.

"So um… why didn't you invite us anyway?" Oki asked nervously.

"No reason, just thought it'd be funny," said Haruna.

"We were not very amused," said Suyama.

"But I was, OKAY?!" Haruna looked exasperated. "It's my birthday, and if I'm having a good time, that's all that counts!"

"Well I hope you're happy!" Abe snapped.

"I AM!" Haruna yelled.

By now, everyone else had slowly started to gather around to see what all the commotion was all about.

"I lost?!" Kano fretted. "Who won? It wasn't Ren, was it?"

"I won," said Ichihara casually.

"NICE JOB, IT-CHAN!!" Oyama and Sawamura bellowed.

"So hey," said Haruna. "Since Takaya decided to be a jerk for no reason and the cake is gone forever, why don't we all run off to Dipper Dan instead? It's on me!" By that he actually meant his parents since he knew where their secret money stash was located.

"YAY DIPPER DAN!!!" yelled the whole crowd.

"I'm coming with you to make sure nothing happens, and there's nothing you can do to stop me," said Abe.

"Whatever!" said Haruna.

"Um, can we come too?" asked Suyama, Nishihiro and Oki in unison.

"Daaaw of course," said Haruna, slapping their backs.

"Good person!" Mihashi piped up.

So the WHOLE crowd went off to the nearest Dipper Dan they could find and all was well!

The end!

***

"Wait, wait, wait," said Shingo, abruptly stopping right in the middle of their searching. "How long has it been since we started this search?"

"I haven't been keeping track of the time!" said Jin.

"IT'S ALREADY DARK OUTSIDE!!" Daichi gasped.

"Well, let's continue our search, guys!" said Jin. "It's got to be around here SOMEWHERE!"

"YES!!!" Daichi screamed.

So they continued searching until Haruna got back home and kicked them out.

The end for real!


End file.
